Across the State, the cost of childcare is continuing to have an impact on families, on businesses and on all of society. In my constituency of Dublin Rathdown, families are paying up to €1,500 per month, which is essentially a second mortgage. While it is extremely welcome that the universal subsidy has had an impact, for some families it amounts to only €80 per month. In light of the rising costs in the general economy, will the Government look at widening that universal subsidy and, more importantly, look at a genuine tax rebate scheme to take the pressure off working families across the country?

The Government is committed to continuing to reduce the costs of childcare. We have taken important measures in this year's budget to provide core funding to childcare providers to enable them to better pay their staff, so we can get that quality and we can retain staff in the sector. In exchange for that, we will get the fee-freeze mechanism, which will be the first time in the State we have ever had such a mechanism. We have brought in some other changes in this year's budget including the extension of the universal payment and the removal of the wraparound hours for children in services in areas of disadvantage. The key technique we have now is the national childcare scheme. There is a strong commitment, which is shared across all parties in government, that we will continue to extend out and invest significantly in the scheme. This will make a real difference in affordability for parents.